Fuel Smarts

Westport and Delphi to Commercialize Natural Gas Injector Technology

Westport Innovations Inc. announced a joint development agreement with Delphi Automotive to combine their intellectual propety to co-develop and manufacture high-pressure natural gas fuel injectors designed for multiple engine original equipment manufacturers.

The first in a family of injectors to be developed will be one of the core components of Westport's recently announced HPDI 2.0 fuel system.

Under the Agreement:

Westport is combining over twenty years of natural gas high-pressure direct injection research with Delphi's powertrain technology portfolio to create and manufacture a mass-market-ready natural gas injector to power multiple engine platforms.

Westport will be investing in equipment including but not limited to tooling, manufacturing, assembly, and end of line test equipment within Delphi's global production footprint. The investment was previously identified in Westport's prospectus in September 2013 for dedicated production equipment of proprietary natural gas engine fuel injection equipment and will enable Westport to deliver high volumes of injectors for multiple OEM applications ranging from trucks to trains.

Delphi will provide injector designers and engineering resources to work with Westport's experts to optimize design, development, manufacturing, and assembly of the injectors.

Based on current OEM projections, Delphi and Westport are intending to invest in and develop annual production capacity in excess of 100,000 injectors within the next 4 years.

Intellectual property rights arising from the development program will be jointly owned by Delphi and Westport and maintained by Westport.

Key injector features include:

Simplified design and smaller footprint: The single actuator design allows for simplified adaptability to multiple engine OEMs for various applications, resulting in lower development and product costs.

Higher performance: Superior actuator performance obtained by using Delphi's high-performance twin valve technology results in increased flow capacity and compatibility with high power and high power density applications.

Lower cost: Cost of the new injector is expected to be significantly lower than current HPDI injectors, according to the company.